Burton Albion fans will be keeping tabs on how their fellow Championship strugglers are doing as we head into the final stretch of games this season.

Tuesday night's fixtures were of particular interest to the Brewers faithful, with three of the bottom seven plus Saturday's opponents, Sheffield United, in action.

Billy Sharp of Sheffield United scores past Vito Mannone of Reading
Billy Sharp of Sheffield United scores past Vito Mannone of Reading

Chris Wilder's Blades bounced back from Friday night's 1-0 loss to Hull City with a 3-1 defeat of Reading, heaping more pressure on Jaap Stam.

Billy Sharp opened the scoring early on and ex-Brewer Mark Duffy added a second on the stroke of half-time.

The Royals pulled a goal back shortly after the break through substitute Omar Richards, but they were denied a chance to go level after Leandro Bacuna's penalty was saved by Blades substitute goalkeeper Simon Moore.

And only a minute later, Sharp put United out of sight with a smart finish from John Fleck's pass. That win lifts them back into the play-offs at the expense of Bristol City.

The Royals, meanwhile, sit four points clear of the relegation zone - and they are without a win in six games, their last victory coming in a 3-1 defeat of Albion last month.

Barnsley looked set to make it back-to-back wins until Michael Dawson's second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw at fellow relegation rivals Hull City.

Oliver McBurnie notched his fourth goal in five games inside 22 minutes, but the Tigers levelled late on to ensure neither side pulled further clear of the relegation zone.

Hull currently sit 20th with 33 points to their name, with the Tykes one point and one place further back.

Albion are three points adrift of Barnsley after 34 games, with 29 points to their name leaving them 23rd at this stage.